Riseandshine Corporation v. Pepsico, Inc.

Background

PepsiCo filed a letter motion asking permission to file under seal its pre-motion letter brief requesting leave to file a motion for summary judgment. The brief described and cited documents designated under the parties’ protective order or otherwise submitted for sealing. PepsiCo specifically identified a 2019 letter that RiseandShine had designated as “Outside Attorneys’ Eyes Only” and later agreed to downgrade to “Confidential.” PepsiCo stated that it did not believe the document was properly designated but sought to file the information under seal because RiseandShine had sought to keep it sealed.

Legal standard

The court’s order adopted the standard described in PepsiCo’s letter: the public generally has a common-law right to access court records, but that right is not absolute. Courts balance the public’s interest in access against privacy interests and may seal documents to prevent the release of sensitive business information that could harm a company’s ability to compete.

Ruling

The court granted PepsiCo’s sealing application for substantially the reasons stated in PepsiCo’s letter. It ordered the letter at Docket No. 340 sealed, with access limited to the parties’ counsel listed in the appendix. The court also directed the Clerk of Court to close the motion at Docket No. 339. The order concerned filing access and did not decide the parties’ underlying claims or PepsiCo’s anticipated summary-judgment motion.